'If I'm a liar then he is slim!' Materazzi blasts back at Chelsea boss Benitez as row escalates

Marco Materazzi has hit back at Rafael Benitez after he was called a liar 10 times by Chelsea's interim manager in an interview last week.

Materazzi, who played under the Spaniard at Inter Milan in 2010, claimed Benitez ‘could not be trusted’ and describe him as ‘weak’.

The Italian, who gained notoriety when he was butted by Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final, also claims Benitez took down pictures of predecessor Jose Mourinho at the training ground.

Under fire: Benitez is not popular with Chelsea's fans

Row: Materazzi (right) was called a 'liar' by Benitez

'If I was president of a club, I would not trust him with my team,' Materazzi added.

Benitez responded with an astonishing rant last week and now-retired Materazzi has continued the feud after offering a riposte on Italian TV.

'So I'm a liar? He's thin then, so that gives reason to call me a liar,' quipped the former Everton man. 'It pains me to say good luck to Chelsea but I will anyway, I feel sorry for their fans.'

Benitez's blast last week echoed of his famous 'facts' rant at Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 2009.

He said: 'In Italy everyone knows Materazzi and everyone at Inter knows him - he’s a liar. He’s lying. He’s lying. He’s lying, just lying. Everything he has said is a lie.

Butt of the joke: Materazzi was infamously the victim of Zidane's rage

'What he said about Mourinho is not true. Nobody knew Mourinho was leaving (in 2010) and no-one knew the Inter position would become available.

'I don’t know about the locker room, so it’s a lie. If you talk about lies, then he is a liar.

'I’ve spoken to his family and they told me I had to understand him so I want to respect him and be nice - but everyone knows him. He cannot discredit anyone because everyone knows him. Forget about him - it’s a lie. Simple.'